All Chapters of The Mafia Princess Is Back: Chapter 1 - Chapter 10

Manhattan. The sixty-eighth floor of Morati Capital's headquarters.The conference room at the end of the hallway had frosted glass doors, and the silhouettes of several people were barely visible inside."I said four hundred million, through a private channel. No risk review!" Nick's voice was so cold and hard that it sounded foreign to me.Three years ago, he had been a college kid who blushed when he asked me for pocket money. Now every syllable he spoke had a venomous, metallic bite."Sir, Lockwood is nothing but a shell company. You can't do this for that woman...""Shut up!" Nick's roar slammed against the glass walls. "Elizabeth is the only person who's been truly good to me these past three years! Who are you to question her?"Elizabeth. The name drove into my eardrums like a needle.In the three years I'd been gone, the cousin who used to copy my every move had somehow gained enough influence to make my brother this stupid and stubborn.Good thing I came back in time.I pushed

Costa Estate, 3:40 p.m.I sat in the armchair at the far end of the living room, my back to the front door, facing the staircase. From this angle, I had a clear view of the entryway and the entire living room.The rumble of an engine grew louder, and Pierre was the first one through the door.His black shirt was unbuttoned to the third button, his hair looked as if he'd just rolled out of bed, and his sunglasses were pushed up on his head. His handsome face was set in a scowl that dared anyone to challenge him."Nick, get your ass out here!" He hadn't noticed me and shouted toward the second floor. "How dare you joke about Sis? Are you trying to get yourself killed?"He was the most straightforward person in the family, which was probably why he had gone into acting.Unfortunately, he also happened to have the worst temper of them all."Where's the contract?" His voice boomed through the entire building. "Stop screwing around. I've still got three hours of shooting left!"Elizabeth fol

Pierre watched her go, then turned to me, a lingering nasal edge in his voice. "Sis... what do we do about her going to Seth?""Let her." I sat back down on the sofa and crossed my legs. "I'd love to see what stories she can spin in front of Seth.""Sis." His voice dropped. "Was I... really that stupid?""Yes." I didn't mince words. "She played you for three years, and you were still helping her do it. Is that Oscar of yours only good for propping up furniture?"Pierre hung his head, ears flushed bright red, but the corner of his mouth twitched upward.He raised his head and looked at me, that familiar dependence in his eyes. "Elizabeth is going to turn the whole story on its head when she talks to Seth."Nick came and sat on my other side. One brother on each side, like two silent towers."Sis." Nick's voice was low. "Seth... he might not listen to our explanation.""Won't listen?" I watched the sky darkening outside the window, a cold smile curling my lips. "Then I'll beat him until

"According to you, DNA can be faked and memories can be stolen. So tell me, what would it take to prove who I am?"I tapped the table. Seth looked back at me, his composure bordering on cruel."When I was eighteen, I went on my first mission and killed someone. I didn't speak for three days afterward. How did you get me to talk?"Pierre and Nick exchanged glances. They didn't know the details of this either."The night you came home, you sat on the bathroom floor taking your gun apart and putting it back together over and over." I looked at Seth, my expression softening. "I asked how many you'd killed. You said one. I asked how it felt. You said you didn't feel anything. Then you held your hands under the faucet and scrubbed for forty minutes until the skin was raw."I stood and walked over to him, looking up at my brother, who was several inches taller than I was. "I said, Seth Costa, you can't wash it off. The blood isn't on your hands. It's on your conscience.""You asked me what to

The living room was so quiet you could hear the last cinders settling in the fireplace.Seth stood rooted in place, motionless. But the cold, almost cruel suspicion in his eyes was melting bit by bit.His voice was raw, as if he were speaking through a mouthful of broken glass."By yourself, you went to the docks, the film set, Nick's office, the care facility." With each sentence, his voice dropped lower. "All alone, in seven days, you turned three years of Elizabeth's work inside out.""And we let her fool us for three full years!" He turned to Elizabeth and looked at her as if she were already dead."Elizabeth Lockwood." His voice was terrifyingly calm. "Do you have anything to say for yourself?"Elizabeth stood there, her lips quivering for a long time."You know you can't run!" Pierre rose to his feet.The pressure in the room became suffocating.Elizabeth suddenly burst into hysterical laughter. She raised her head and looked at me, venom brimming in her eyes."You think you've w